Ostrich Trivia

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Ostriches are the largest living birds, weighing up to 350 pounds and standing up to 9 feet tall. They are flightless birds that can run up to 45 miles per hour, making them the fastest land bird. Ostriches lay the largest eggs of any bird, with each egg weighing up to 3 pounds. They have good eyesight and hearing, but a poor sense of smell. Ostriches are omnivores, eating plants and animals. They live in Africa and are farmed for their meat, eggs, and feathers. Ostriches are also used for racing and as riding animals.

Wildlife

Despite being flightless birds, ostriches are incredibly fast runners and can reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour, making them the fastest bipedal runners in the world. They can maintain this speed for around 30 minutes. In contrast, the fastest human can only achieve half this speed.
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It is commonly believed that ostriches bury their heads in the sand when they sense danger. However, this is a myth, and in reality, ostriches stretch their long necks flat on the ground when they sleep. This can sometimes give the impression that their heads are buried.

Ostriches are farmed in over 50 countries worldwide for their meat, feathers, and high-quality leather. The African black ostrich (Struthio camelus domesticus) is the only species of ostrich found in captivity, and its feed-to-weight ratio is the best of any farmed land animal.

Ostriches have large eyes that are roughly the size of billiard balls, which take up a significant portion of their skulls. Surprisingly, their brains are smaller than their eyes. This may explain why ostriches, despite their incredible speed, are not very good at escaping predators and tend to run in circles.

For more ostrich facts, continue reading on the next page.

Additional Ostrich Facts

Male ostriches are polygamous and tend to the nest with their favorite mate. The female lays approximately six eggs in a shallow depression in the sand, which takes around two weeks. Other hens then add their eggs to the nest, and once complete, the favored mate chases them off. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs.
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Ostriches have incredibly long intestines, which measure up to 46 feet long, twice the length of human intestines. This allows them to extract more nutrients from the tough vegetation they eat. To aid digestion, ostriches swallow sand and small stones, which help break down the food in their gizzard. Ostriches in captivity have been known to swallow a variety of unusual objects, including bicycle valves, alarm clocks, and small bottles.

Ostriches are the largest living birds in the world, and a chick can grow up to one foot in height each month until they are seven or eight months old. Adult ostriches can reach between six to ten feet in height and weigh up to 340 pounds. Due to their massive size, they were occasionally used for riding or pulling chariots in ancient Egypt, but their unpredictable and aggressive nature made this practice impractical.

Ostriches have only two toes, which is unusual as most birds have three or four. They kick forward rather than backward as their knees bend in this direction. Ostriches do not need to drink water as they can obtain some of it internally and the rest from the vegetation they consume.

The ostrich egg may be the largest of all eggs, but in proportion to the size of the bird, it is actually the smallest. A three-pound ostrich egg is only about 1 percent as heavy as the ostrich hen. On the other hand, a kiwi’s egg is 15 to 20 percent of the mother bird’s mass, which makes it the largest in comparison to the mother. It’s interesting to note that an ostrich egg is equivalent in volume to two dozen chicken eggs.

An early Christian text called Physiologus, which was compiled around the second century A.D. and was popular during the Middle Ages, claimed that the ostrich incubates its eggs by staring at them. This was based on the widespread belief at the time that vision was caused by special rays emanating from one’s eyes. Therefore, the heat in the gaze of the ostrich was believed to have hatched its chicks. The author of Physiologus used this story as an allegory to inspire worshippers to keep their eyes on Christ.

This article is an adaptation from a book titled “The Book of Incredible Information,” which was published by West Side Publishing, a division of Publications International, Ltd.

For more information on ostriches, birds, and related topics, check out the following HowStuffWorks articles: “Ostrich,” “Birds,” “Struthiomimus,” “Emu,” and “What if an astronaut took his/her pet bird into space? Would it still be able to fly?”

FAQ

1. What is an ostrich?

An ostrich is a large, flightless bird that is native to Africa. It is the largest bird in the world, with males weighing up to 350 pounds and standing up to 9 feet tall.

2. What do ostriches eat?

Ostriches are omnivores and eat a variety of foods including plants, insects, lizards, and small mammals. They also swallow stones to aid in digestion.

3. How fast can ostriches run?

Ostriches are incredibly fast and can run up to 45 miles per hour. They use their long legs and powerful muscles to outrun predators.

4. Can ostriches fly?

No, ostriches are flightless birds. However, they do have wings that they use for balance and to help them change direction while running.

5. How do ostriches communicate?

Ostriches communicate through a variety of sounds, including hisses, grunts, and chirps. They also use body language, such as fluffing their feathers or spreading their wings, to express themselves.

6. How long do ostriches live?

Ostriches can live up to 40 years in captivity, but their lifespan in the wild is shorter due to predation and other factors.

7. Are ostriches endangered?

No, ostriches are not currently endangered. However, they are still hunted for their meat, skin, and feathers, and their habitat is increasingly threatened by human development.

8. Do ostriches lay eggs?

Yes, ostriches lay eggs that are the largest of any bird. The eggs can weigh up to 3 pounds and take about 6 weeks to hatch.

9. Are ostriches social animals?

Yes, ostriches are social animals and live in flocks of up to 100 individuals. They have a complex social hierarchy and communicate with each other through various sounds and displays.

10. Can ostriches swim?

While ostriches are not known for their swimming abilities, they are capable of crossing shallow bodies of water by wading or floating on their backs.